The Poppy Appeal in Shropshire
The 2022 NE NW Midlands Poppy Appeal Launch
On the 27th October 2022 the Regional Launch for the North East & North West Midlands Poppy Appeal took place at RAF Cosford. Your poppy shows you care and helps the Royal British Legion to continue its vital work so what better place to launch than with our local serving military. Wearing a poppy and any personal acts of remembrance, however small, bring us all together once a year in a national moment to demonstrate our gratitude for and pride in the whole Armed Forces community, past and present.
A large focus of the day was highlighting the future of the RAF via their STEM development. Members of the Learning Technologies Team have designed, and printed a very special, one-of-a-kind poppy to launch the Appeal. This was presented to the RBL at the launch alongside a live hologram representation.
The ceremonial first donation for a poppy was this year made by a representative of RAF Cosford, as a contactless donation using one of our brand-new collecting machines. This took place inside a hanger on base with serving members of the military, the Deputy Lord Lieutenancy representative Claire Crackett, RAF Musuem Midlands representatives, RBL membership and Poppy Appeal volunteers present.
The printed poppy is going on display during Remembrance at the RAF Museum Midlands, alongside the traditional poppies and collecting tin.
Check out BBC Midlands Today for some video coverage of the launch!
BBC iPlayer - Midlands Today - Lunchtime News: 27/10/2022
Interview with BBC Midlands Today
The 3d printed Poppy and contactless donation machine
Aldo the service dog
The Learning Technologies Team behind the printed poppy and hologram
The hanger used for the launch
Story of the Printed Poppy
The Royal British Legion approached us at the RAF Cosford Air Show in June this year.
The Learning Technologies Team (LTT) were demonstrating to the public our immersive training products. We had our 3D printers set to print red tokens with RAF (Royal Air Force) in black printed on them.
This inspired the RBL to see our potential and this was the beginning of talks for the Poppy launch.
My name is Nicky Stevenson I am a 3D Artist and I work in LTT at RAF Cosford. I will be explaining the development process for the 3D printed poppy that I along with my RAF colleagues Cpl’s Davis and Mcilmoyle have created with input from the rest of the LTT.
We started with a quick ideas session then agreed on a final design with the poppy showing cut out aircrafts on the leaf.
I drew the silhouettes using Adobe Illustrator and exported them out as a vector image then turned them into splines (Outlines) in the 3d software to fill in and make them 3D objects, to then use them as a stamp to cut out the shapes in the leaf.
Here is the wire frame and shape of the final poppy design
- The Plant pot is to symbolise the RBL keeping the poppy alive and to support and remember everyone who has sacrificed themselves.
- The Leaf with the aircraft silhouettes is to symbolise the technology used by the RAF and how teaching using Immersive Technology is helping to engage the future generation of Aircraft Technicians.
- The Poppy is a symbol of remembrance and is also a symbol of hope for the future to come, learning from lessons of the past.
An exploded representation of the Poppy and how it will fit together.
We 3D printed it using slicing software, doing this tells the 3D printer how to print each layer.
Each Poppy item is printed separately to maximise the print size.
This is the 3D printer. It has an auto levelling bed; this prevents the nozzle from colliding with the print bed. When the 3D printer prints curves and arches it needs supports to keep the print from drooping.
The parts of the finished product ready to be assembled.
Dan Milward's Story
The Royal British Legion is there for the Armed Forces community throughout their lives, whenever they need us. From the children of serving personnel to the oldest veterans and everyone in between the Royal British Legion is there for the Armed Forces community, every step of the way.
Serving RAF Flight Sergeant Dan Milward and his wife Suzanne approached the Royal British Legion on behalf of their child Charlie. The 15-year-old is diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, which has led to Charlie experiencing anxiety and low mood, which sadly has led to mental health issues over the past few years.
The RBL, along with the RAF Benevolent Fund, managed to secure part of the funding to ensure that the family could fulfill the costs of the Assistance Dog Programme and Charlie could receive the support they needed and gain confident through the help of a new companion – Aldo.
Dan said: “Charlie has always known they were different since an early age, and we always knew they struggled with emotional issues. However, since 2019, matters had escalated and I was serving in the Falklands at the time when Charlie, who now identifies as non-binary, was struggling at school and their attendance had taken a massive downturn and anxiety had hit an all-time high.
“In all honesty, I didn’t think as a currently serving member of the Armed Forces I would be eligible for any support, however upon explaining our situation the RBL put us in touch with its local welfare team and we were assigned a case worker, who also suggested we also contact the RAF Benevolent Fund as well. Although we had managed to raise just under half the costs by ourselves, we were lucky enough to have the RBL and RAFBF agreed to pay the outstanding balance and we were elated! It was such a relief not only to know we could financially afford this programme, but also to know that we would soon be able to welcome a new member of the family that would aid Charlie in their day-to-day life.”
“Whenever I see someone now wearing a poppy, I feel great gratitude for their donation and support to the RBL and it’s a nod to our service and the sacrifice of others. I wear my poppy all year round and I never forget its significance not only for the help we received as a family but also its lasting meaning of Remembrance to those who have served and are serving.”
RAF Museum Midlands
The Royal Air Force Museum Midlands offers a fun, award-winning day out for all the family. Entry is free and is open daily from 10.00am. The 3D printed poppy will be on display at the RAF Museum Midlands during the Remembrance period after they kindly agreed to host this special piece of local history. Displaying the 3D printed poppy during Remembrancetide means that anyone can visit and see this piece of local Poppy Appeal history, and learn more about the past, present and future of the RAF. Book your visit to see it in person today!
The Royal Air Force Museum | RAF Museum free entrance
Volunteering & Membership
Volunteering with us helps make an enormous difference to our Armed Forces community.
However much time you can give, there are plenty of opportunities for you to get involved as a volunteer and make a difference.
Members build relationships. They share experiences with like-minded people, and have a say in the way we run the Legion by voting through
our branch network.
But most importantly, they help us provide support to the Armed Forces community and their families.
From being at the end of a phone line and visiting veterans in their local area, to holding Remembrance and community events across the UK, our members help us reach those who need us most.
